I've found that as my weight drops, the effects of PMS (headaches, cramps, bloating) have worsened. I had my period this week so I shot up by 3 lbs, then it came off plus some.
Also, as I get closer to my goal, I am weaning myself off microwave ready meals like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice and am beginning to develop an arsenal of healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes. My work has kept me extremely busy and when I get home, I'm tired and in no mood to slave over the stove for an hour. So I buy mostly frozen vegetables and pre-cooked frozen meat. I do buy fresh fruit; the frozen stuff is gross. I eat enough fruit to go through pounds of it a week without it spoiling, but vegetables would mostly spoil before I could finish them. So I cut corners by getting the frozen stuff. Nothing wrong with it!
One dish I've taken to recently is couscous with chicken and vegetables. I prepare about 3 cups of dry couscous at a time, season it with Mrs Dash, a little kosher salt, some harissa, and a couple of bay leaves and put it in the fridge. That way it's there and ready when I want it. I take a cup of cooked couscous, a cup of frozen spinach, 2/3 cups of frozen peas & carrots, and nuke them all together for 90 seconds, stir, nuke for another 90 seconds, squirt some lemon juice on it, and it's ready to go. I then nuke a cooked chicken breast for 3 minutes, cut it up, and put it on top of all of that. It's a low-calorie but HUGE and FILLING meal. I calculated this meal at 430 calories, 51 g carbs, 36 g protein, 6.5 g fat, and 6 g of fiber. Even when I'm very hungry, I can rarely finish the entire meal.
There are a lot of carbs in that meal; I don't know if people who follow this blog are aware of the details of what I eat, but I am not following a low-carb diet. In fact, I'm not following any diet at all. I try to eat healthy foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, etc. but I do not take much notice of percentages, carbs, calories from fat, calories from protein, etc. I eat what I like and what is appealing, and control the portions strictly. If I want beef I have it. If I want rice I have it. If I want chili I have it. But I don't have LOTS of it! I had pizza this week from Pizza Hut. One slice of medium hand-tossed pepperoni pizza from there is 230 calories. There is room for a slice or two of that in pretty much any diet.
4 comments:
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving words of wisdom. I value all the support.
I was hoping that as I lose weight, my cycles would get better not worse.
I have read and heard of couscous, but I have no idea what it is, how to prepare it, and if I'd even like it. lol Is it sold in grocery stores? I live under a rock! BUT...I go for high-volume, filling meals, so you've really piqued my interest.
Hi Jo!
Couscous is basically little tiny pasta made from semolina. You can usually find it in the same aisle as rice in most supermarkets, though some may put it with "ethnic cuisine". If you can't find it at your local supermarket, you may be able to find it at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Central Market, or Sprouts if you have any of those shops near you. Our local super Wal-Mart sells it, too, but it's cheapest at Sprouts. :-)
I think my monthlies getting worse might be due to the hormonal imbalance I've been suffering since losing weight. I broke out with horrific acne a few months ago and my dermatologist says it was due to a hormonal imbalance, and that it's pretty common with people losing large amounts of weight. It's nothing too serious, my hormones will get themselves in sync eventually!
I'll look for couscous when I go shopping tonight.
"Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Central Market, or Sprouts"...ha ha ha..in my wildest dreams. I live in a small town and the nearest big city 50-60 miles from us has none of these stores. I have visited a Whole Foods when I was in Denver, tough.
My hormones are crazy, and I know it's due to age (43) and I thought my weight may have something to do with it. Frankly, I'm done having children and would delight in entereing menopause. That's bad, isn't it?
Thank you!
Ah, sorry; I live in one of the US's largest cities so I have kind of a skewed view of what's available at the supermarket.
I don't think there's anything wrong with anticipating menopause when you're done having kids. I'm 33 and have no children and probably will never have any, but stupid me is still holding out hope that I might. But you have them, so ask your OB/GYN if you can take the pill continuously. There's a lot of interest in it in some European countries and studies have mainly shown it to be safe. That way you won't have as much hormonal stuff to deal with. I smoke, so my OB/GYN won't give me the pill. Apparently I'm too close to being in my "mid to late 30s". *sob*
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